Various storage systems for beds of pick-up trucks are known in the art. Such devices generally are attached to the floor of the truck bed or, if attached to a side wall of a truck bed include a depth to the floor to provide a storage box structure. Examples of storage devices known in the art are described briefly below.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,635,992 describes, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a storage box slideably suspended on rails attached to the upper inside side walls of a truck bed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,326 describes a tool box which rolls along rails attached to the upper inner side walls of a truck bed.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,037,153 and 5,121,959 each describe a storage box moveable along guide rails attached to the top of side walls of a truck bed. Each of the '153 and '959 patents describe particular structures for the mounting assembly which also allows for movement of the storage box.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,709 describes an attachment for a pick-up truck bed which includes a slideable platform attached to the floor of the truck bed, a stationary bed affixed to the top of the side walls of the truck bed, and racks which can be raised or lowered in use to allow for storage upon the bed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,709 describes an auxiliary deck raised off the floor of a vehicle to provide for the transporting of articles or sleeping in the vehicle. The raised deck is supported by legs standing on the floor of the vehicle. Movement of the auxiliary deck is not described.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,064,335 describes a platform in a truck bed movable along guide rails situated with respect to the floor of the truck bed so that the platform moves as the bed floor.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,284,419 describes a storage drawer slideable along guide rails in a storage area of a vehicle. The guide rails and drawer are mounted in relation to the floor of the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,684 describes a storage box capable of rolling movement within the bed of a utility vehicle through the use of channel guides attached to the floor bed of the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,377 describes a storage system for a vehicle, such as a panel truck or van, which is suspended from a frame attached to one interior side wall of the vehicle. The frame includes at least two horizontal channels and a sliding carriage for slideably moving storage bins along the frame.
The following patents additionally describe platforms, boxes and the like moveably attached to the bed of a vehicle or serve as a floor of a vehicle:
______________________________________ 2,784,027 4,752,095 2,797,828 4,824,158 3,006,487 4,830,242 3,132,755 4,841,883 3,338,620 4,993,088 3,768,673 5,052,878 4,305,695 5,098,146 4,681,360 5,513,941 4,705,315 5,564,767 ______________________________________
None of the prior art structures, however, provide for versatility in attachment or installation and thus the manner of use of the prior art storage systems is limited. For example, the slideable drawers attached to the floor of a vehicle provide for less storage space and do not allow for the use of the floor of the vehicle if the drawer is completely removed since the rails on which the drawer moves remain in place on a floor of the truck. Further, such only provides one storage area and, thus, a full utilization of space is not provided. Storage boxes held behind a truck cab do not provide for ready access or storage for large or odd shaped articles. The present invention is directed to providing a vehicle storage system which overcomes the limitations of the known storage devices.